New details are emerging about the shooting death of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, who was killed following a traffic incident in New Orleans. People have passed by the memorial all day.
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Just 10 blocks away the driver of a hummer SUV allegedly rear ended Smith’s Mercedes causing it to go into the vehicle in front of them.
The Mercedes driven by former New Orleans Saint Will Smith would be shot dead shortly after collision Sunday morning.
Smith played for the New Orleans Saints.
Suspected shooter Cardell Hayes was driving a Hummer H2 at the time of Saturday’s shooting, police said.
“I hate guns”, the Saints head coach told USA Today.
Another video released by NOLA.com on Monday showed the aftermath of the shooting where you can hear the voice of Racquel Smith, wife of Will Smith, screaming that she has been shot in the leg.
A defense attorney for Hayes, John Fuller, has insisted that Hayes will be vindicated once the full story emerges, saying that someone “besides my client” was behaving in a threatening manner, although he hasn’t said who: “My client has been pilloried, convicted and tried” in the news and on social media, he added.
More surveillance video shows the Hummer come to a quick stop, and the Mercedes appears to possibly tap the vehicle from behind. As paramedics wheeled Racquel Smith away on a stretcher, her husband’s arm could be seen above his steering wheel, his body slumped partially outside his auto.
New Orleans Police Department spokesman Tyler Gamble said all of the shell casings found on the scene matched the one gun that was initially confiscated and that was believed to have been fired by Hayes.
Police have charged Cardell Hayes, a 28-year-old man known in the area as a former high school football star, with second-degree murder and are continuing to investigate whether the incident was simple road rage that tragically escalated or whether there was any kind of premeditation involved.
New Orleans police say they have not recovered a second gun at the scene. One person called 911 to report, according to dispatch audio, “there’s a male down with about six gun wounds to the chest”. That’s madness. I know there are many kids who grew up in a hunting environment. For him to put that out, everyone is going to look at it as, ‘Well, Tyrann Mathieu is from New Orleans, he must know this guy, he must be stating the facts.’ Everyone is human.
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FILE – In this December 27, 2010, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith (91) celebrates a 17-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL football game in Atlanta.
